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3.8 New Zealand’s Electoral System with Therese Arseneau

In episode eight of season three of the podcast, I’m speaking with Therese Arseneau about the introduction of a mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system.

Therese was an expert advisor to the New Zealand Electoral Commission between 2010 and 2016. She is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Therese sets out

the background to the referendum which led to the introduction of MMP in New Zealand [1:20]

how voters view the impact of MMP [13:30]

the reality of MMP and coalition governments [21:20]

the impact of MMP on women’s representation [28:10]

the wider impact of MMP [34:00] and

Maori representation generally and the impact of MMP [39:30]

The story of New Zealand’s radical change to their electoral system and it’s broad impacts is a fascinating one.

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The next podcast episode will be about electoral systems in South East Asia.